Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier officially announced his office filed a civil lawsuit against OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman during a press conference Monday.
In the filing, the Attorney General’s office alleges the artificial intelligence company that owns ChatGPT has been negligent.
“Sam Altman and ChatGPT have chosen the AI race over the safety and security of our kids. They have chosen profit over public safety, and we're not going to stand for it here in Florida. So, we will hold them accountable,” Uthmeier said.
Uthmeier has been a loud voice against ChatGPT since it became public that logs show the accused gunman on Florida State University’s campus asked the AI chatbot for advice on how to carry out the shooting. The attorney general is also currently conducting a criminal investigation into the platform. He says the company should have safety measures in place.
“Chat GPT is one of the biggest corporations, the best at analyzing and programming data. How can they see somebody planning a murder over hours, days, or even weeks, and not step in to fix it, not alert authorities about what credible evidence might be there?” he said.
Family members of one of the victims killed in the FSU shooting have filed their own lawsuit against OpenAI. A spokesperson for the company has said OpenAI is not responsible for the shooting and that safeguards are in place.